In a two-man episode of the Round Table (the linear table?), Seth Barron and Spencer Klavan conduct a close reading of Puffin’s changes to the works of Roald Dahl. In collaboration with “Inclusive Minds, a collective for people who are passionate about inclusion and accessibility in children’s literature,” the publishers have decided to tweak Dahl’s work and bring it up to speed with the latest woke nostrums. What could possibly go wrong? Plus: read the damn site!
Feb 24, 2023•55 min•Ep. 159
As extremely dangerous chemical spills are happening across America, and as UFOs get shot down day after day, our editors (joined by Helen Roy!) discuss whether malice or incompetence predominates in our present climate. Meanwhile, the cult of D.I.E. continues to install itself in our educational institutions, as demonstrated by Columbia University's recent CRT chant for medical students, complete with bowed heads and silent reverence. Plus: our editors recount their favorite essays of the week ...
Feb 17, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 158
Turning from Biden’s gasbaggery to the real issues at stake, our editors discuss what is needed for a digital revival, how the US left a Chinese spy balloon in our airspace for nearly a week without doing anything, and the disastrous situation at the border. Black pills abound, but hope is never lost. Plus: the editors share their favorite articles of the week.
Feb 10, 2023•57 min•Ep. 158
This week's edition of "This is Fine" kicks off with a close analysis of an increasingly common phenomenon in mainstream media: supplanting objectivity with personal experience and identity. From Watergate to a recent viral WaPo op-ed, they uncover the fables the press tells itself as copium. Plus: the editors discuss where they turn to for reliable news, the tragic killing of Tyre Nichols, and their favorite stories on TAM this week. For a list of articles referenced in this episode, visit amer...
Feb 03, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 156
Jan 27, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 155
After ripping Trump for having classified documents on his property for months, the mainstream media has done an about face and are now running damage control for Biden as his own caches of documents continue to emerge. Meanwhile, the highest of high society have taken their private jets to gather at the 50th annual World Economic Forum meeting, where they are discussing how to frame regulating your life in flowery language so you won’t notice. Plus: for supposedly wanting us to stop paying atte...
Jan 20, 2023•59 min•Ep. 154
As flights are grounded across America and federal officials float—then retract—a ban on gas stoves, the editors gather to discuss the gradual dissolution of American competence, and what if anything can be done about it. Plus: Ron DeSantis has made a bold series of appointments to the New College of Florida's Board of Trustees. Is this a hopeful first step, or a meaningless drop in the ocean? The editors chose between white, black, and quantum pills on the state of education.
Jan 13, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 153
Representative Kevin McCarthy has failed multiple times to win election as Speaker of the House. Is this a wake-up call for GOP leadership, or the wrong outlet for populist outrage? Meanwhile, the infamous social media influencer and former kickboxer, Andrew Tate, has been arrested under suspicion of rape and human trafficking. Plus: David French has joined the New York Times--almost too fitting an outcome after years of realignment on the intellectual Right. Spencer and Seth discuss.
Jan 05, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 152
As Christmas rapidly approaches, our editors gather to reflect on the whole of 2022. From the mobilization of the social media swarm in support of The Current Thing™, to the elevation of sexual deviancy among the top brass, to the proliferation of tech idolatry, our editors only wish they could be shocked. Plus: preliminary thoughts on 2023 and a teaser for upcoming content.
Dec 23, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 151
At long last interracial marriage has been legalized at the federal level in the US! In reality, of course, the law Biden signed this week is more about political maneuvering around gay marriage. Concurrently, Sam Bankman-Fried has been arrested in the Bahamas on charges of fraud as it appears FTX is effectively a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. Does this event shed a new light on the factions vying for power in the financial space? Plus: it’s a tripledemic—time to mask back up. Our editors c...
Dec 16, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 150
AI-generated images have taken the internet by storm over the last week. Are AI profile pics the cute veneer over a coming existential threat to human self-worth? Meanwhile, Matt Taibbi and Elon Musk released a Twitter thread with the first fruits of what Taibbi dubbed "The Twitter Files." The thread confirmed suspicions that Twitter and the government were tightly aligned with one another in censoring inconvenient information. Plus: Warnock defeated Walker in Georgia's runoff race for a hotly c...
Dec 09, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 149
This week has offered a veritable clown car of obnoxious and distasteful weirdos. Nick Fuentes wormed his way into a dinner with Trump via Kanye West. Sam Brinton, the non-binary, crossdressing, doggie-roleplaying member of the Biden administration’s Department of Energy, has been charged with felony theft after being caught on video snatching a woman’s suitcase. Plus: Balenciaga’s new ad features kids in BDSM-themed outfits. Our editors discuss the shocking freakishness on display and whether t...
Dec 02, 2022•57 min•Ep. 148
Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover carries on apace, and reports of implosion seem to be greatly exaggerated. Is Musk’s aggressive firing policy proof of concept for the elimination of BS jobs? The editors, joined by Helen Roy and Charles Haywood, take a look at some back-of-the-napkin calculations of how profitable Twitter might be under Elon Musk overnight, as well as his hazy policies on freedom of speech vs. freedom of reach on the platform. Plus: the crew discuss what they’re thankful for.
Nov 24, 2022•53 min•Ep. 147
FTX CEO SBF is SOL--and if that sentence doesn’t make sense to you, fear not. The TAM editors are here to chart the aftershocks of the crypto crash heard round the world, and to discuss its implications for the future of America. Plus: Trump announces (shocking few) that he will run for re-election, and Canada plans to legalize euthanasia for the mentally ill. In this dire landscape, who will chart a pro-human path forward?
Nov 18, 2022•59 min•Ep. 146
“Election month” is here, and it looks like the much-anticipated red wave is more of a drizzle. The House looks like it’ll be narrowly red, and the Senate is likely in the hands of a tossup election in Georgia—again. Meanwhile, the growing rift between DeSantis and Trump presages a potentially rocky road ahead for the Right. And what about the Biden of it all? Our editors convene to analyze the implications of the midterms.
Nov 10, 2022•59 min•Ep. 145
Having been mocked and roundly criticized for its plans to found a “Disinformation Governance Board,” DHS decided not that it should reevaluate its goals, but that it should keep doing the same thing—just without telling you. Meanwhile, Paul Pelosi was beaten in his home by a crazed lunatic, leaving him with a fractured skull and everyone else wondering what the hell happened. Plus: New York Governor Kathy Hochul is unexpectedly in danger of being voted out of office by those pesky extremists wh...
Nov 03, 2022•57 min•Ep. 144
This week on live TV, to the utter shock and chagrin of the legacy media hosts, average voters from across the so-called political spectrum were united—in their dissatisfaction with leftist policies. Meanwhile, Joe Biden continues his very public and visible decline, and John Fetterman whiffs it on the debate stage against Mehmet Öz. Plus: Republicans are under fire for *checks notes* supporting Democrat policies? The editors gather in full complement to discuss the current state of the American...
Oct 27, 2022•59 min•Ep. 143
A new NYT/Siena poll looks grim for the Left across the board. What kind of realignment, or realignments, are underway? With the middle class feeling pinched by bad economic policy, more and more people believe the government serves social elites to the detriment of everyday Americans. Or else they fear being replaced by bots; or else they’re on edge for fear of saying something contra The Current Thing. Our editors, joined by special guests Matt Peterson and Helen Roy, analyze the situation....
Oct 20, 2022•57 min•Ep. 142
The new Current Thing™ update has dropped: NPCs have been reprogrammed to believe that not only are nukes not that bad, but a nuclear war wouldn't be bad either. It might even fight climate change! Intellectual Leftists are now also making the case that " aborting" babies after they are born should be allowed. Is this the next slippery slope we slide down? Meanwhile, the Left increasingly believes that democracy is the implementation of their preferred policies, and anyone who opposes their goal...
Oct 13, 2022•53 min•Ep. 141
Members of Gen Z report trusting Google and Youtube to deliver information and entertainment--but what’s really going on under the hood? Just like everywhere else, “neutrality” is a myth online. Then: how can the Right win the fight over childhood indoctrination and radical gender theory in schools? And what on earth is Biden thinking when it comes to oil? Ryan and Spencer (aka Starsky and Hutch) discuss.
Oct 06, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 140
Midterms are rocketing toward us, and House Republicans have come out with a platform of sorts; the editors discuss how both party’s prospects are shaping up by way of the fascinating--and absurdist--case study of Pennsylvania’s Senate race between Mehmet Öz and John Fetterman. Meanwhile, rumblings around the world--leaks in Russia’s Nord Stream pipelines, unrest in Iran, and a conservative victory in Italy--give occasion to wonder just where the world is headed, and what the people in charge ca...
Sep 29, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 139
Red states are on a roll this week. The 5th Circuit Court upheld a Texas law banning viewpoint censorship on social media platforms with over 50 million active users. Florida’s Ron DeSantis publicly highlighted the duplicity of leftist virtue signaling by sending 50 Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, whereupon the Vineyard’s occupants promptly flipped out and called in the National Guard. Plus: Biden gave an interview on 60 Minutes that was such a train wreck it demands a close reading. O...
Sep 22, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 138
In this edition of The Stakes, Claremont Senior Fellow Michael Anton, a lecturer in politics and research fellow at Hillsdale College’s Kirby Center, talks with Glenn Ellmers, Visiting Research Scholar at Hillsdale College and author of The Soul of Politics: Harry V. Jaffa and the Fight for America. The two discuss some of the major ideas and principles in Harry Jaffa’s philosophical writing, and how those principles might apply to the modern American crisis. Plus: a defense of some of Jaffa’s m...
Sep 19, 2022•1 hr 13 min
As midterms loom, Biden’s DOJ is handing out subpoenas like they’re going out of style--which in a sense they may be, since a traditional election moratorium on political maneuvering makes coming for Trump an increasingly bad look. But at this point, will the public really believe that the DOJ is dispassionate? Or, for that matter, that the economy is under control? Biden seems to be hoping against hope that they will, throwing a White House celebration while a massive freight rail worker strike...
Sep 15, 2022•57 min•Ep. 137
President Biden gave a speech before a blood-red background in front of Liberty Hall late last week, explicitly identifying a large chunk of the GOP as threats to democracy. How large? Biden won’t say--or what he does say, he walks back. Will this message really play with a significant portion of the electorate, or have Biden and his team confused Twitter for real life? Meanwhile, in real life itself, everything seems to be getting worse: school test scores have taken a twenty-year drop in the w...
Sep 08, 2022•56 min•Ep. 136
Russia gonna Russia, while the West, and the Left, gonna fall for it. Michael Shellenberger rolls out an alarming thread on who’s funding climate activists in Europe, and the dire consequences of extremist policies at home and abroad. Meanwhile, The DOJ, CIA, and FBI have been showing increasingly bold signs of corruption and meddling in domestic elections, maintaining an apparently routine dialogue with Facebook and other social media companies about when to suppress “potential threat informati...
Sep 02, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 135
The FBI has raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. Are Merrick Garland and the ruling elites at the justice department so convinced of their political invulnerability that they don’t care how this looks? Maybe the Democrats just think they can buy voters off: in a transparent ploy to do so, the Biden administration has promised a $10,000 student loan cancellation plan. Conservatives are sputtering with outrage, but they ought to be thinking “systemically” about how to dismantle the whole college i...
Aug 26, 2022•59 min•Ep. 134
In this edition of The Stakes, Michael Anton, lecturer in politics and research fellow at Hillsdale College’s Kirby Center, and a Claremont senior fellow, is joined by Michael Millerman of the Millerman School. The two discuss the teachings of the Claremont Institute's ideological lodestar, Leo Strauss. They also discuss how and to what extent Strauss' teachings, and those of other twentieth century German philosophers, remain relevant today in our crumbling republic despite an active attempt by...
Aug 22, 2022•1 hr 37 min
This week, The American Mind team is off, with the exception of Seth Barron who has volunteered to bring you a short and sweet one-man show before we return to a full complement next week. Against the background of Liz Cheney's crushing defeat in the Wyoming primary, Seth analyzes the ever-widening rift between the New Right that is taking over the GOP and the old guard who are now finding themselves not only on the outs, but unelectable. Obviously the only answer in that position is to assume e...
Aug 19, 2022•19 min•Ep. 133
This week, while The American Mind 's editors are off, Ryan Williams took the opportunity to sit down with Dr. John Marini. Against the background of the FBI's unprecedented raid on Mar-a-Lago, which took place on the 48th anniversary of Richard Nixon's resignation, the pair look back at Nixon's experience with the administrative state as it relates to today. Plus: what can we do to bring government back into the purview of politics and wrench it from the clutches of an increasingly autonomous b...
Aug 12, 2022•50 min•Ep. 132
